Ford and GM are not making cars in the U.S. at the moment, but they’ve pitched in to fight the pandemic that shut them down. The automakers have re-tooled to make ventilators and other medical supplies and are pioneering new safety measures on assembly lines that may soon be the norm.
“My team didn’t need marching orders,” Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford told Norah O’Donnell for a story on this week’s 60 Minutes. “It was from our local hospital saying, ‘Hey, we don’t have any protective equipment, who can help us?'”
Mary Barra, CEO of GM, said, “It is part of General Motors’ culture that if we can do something to help the country– in this case– fight a pandemic, we’re going to do that.”
O’Donnell’s 60 Minutes segment also looks at the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ford and GM and reports on the new safety measures, including temperature scanning. The automotive industry leaders tell O’Donnell these safety protocols will be the new norm when American industry slowly re-opens.
“Before I walked into this facility today I had my temperature scanned,” Barra said. “I think it’s– a very important part of the protocol.”
“We’re wearing face masks and we’re wearing face shields,” Ford said.
Ford is also testing new buzzing wrist watches that warn workers to keep safe social distancing measures in place.
“It also tells you who you’ve come into contact with that’s also been wearing that wristband,” Ford said. “So that if anybody was infected, it’s very easy to trace who they were interacting with.”
The story will be broadcast on 60 Minutes Sunday, April 26, 7 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
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